Egg Storage Assembly

ABSTRACT

An egg storage assembly includes a box that has a plurality of recesses each extending downwardly therein. Each of the recesses has a parabolic shape to receive and thusly conform to the narrow end of an egg. A lid is hingedly coupled to the box and the lid has a plurality of cups thereon. Each of the cups extends upwardly from the lid and each of the cups is aligned with a respective one of the recesses when the lid is closed such that each of the cups forms an enclosure with the respective recesses. Each of the cups is concavely arcuate wherein to receive and thusly conform to the wide end of the egg when the lid is closed. The wide end of the egg is exposed when the lid is opened thereby enhancing gripping the egg.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Statement Regarding Federally Sponsored Research or Development

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The disclosure and prior art relates to storage devices and more particularly pertains to a new storage device for storing eggs with the wide end facing up thereby enhancing gripping the eggs.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a box that has a plurality of recesses each extending downwardly therein. ach Each of the recesses has a parabolic shape to receive and thusly conform to the narrow end of an egg. A lid is hingedly coupled to the box and the lid has a plurality of cups thereon. Each of the cups extends upwardly from the lid and each of the cups is aligned with a respective one of the recesses when the lid is closed such that each of the cups forms an enclosure with the respective recesses. Each of the cups is concavely arcuate wherein to receive and thusly conform to the wide end of the egg when the lid is closed. The wide end of the egg is exposed when the lid is opened thereby enhancing gripping the egg.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective in-use view of an egg storage assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a bottom phantom view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 6 thereof, a new storage device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6, the egg storage assembly 10 generally comprises a box 12 that has a plurality of recesses 14 each extending downwardly therein. Each of the recesses 14 has a parabolic shape for receiving and thusly conforming to the narrow end 16 of an egg 18. The egg 18 may be that of a chicken egg or other egg commonly consumed for a meal. The recesses 14 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed on the box 12.

The box 12 has a top wall 20, a bottom wall 22 and an outer surface 24 extending therebetween. The outer surface 24 extends upwardly beyond the top wall 20 to define a lip 26 extending around an entire perimeter of the box 12. The lip 26 has a back side 28, and each of the recesses 14 extend downwardly in the top wall 20 toward the bottom wall 22. Additionally, each of the recesses 14 has a bounding surface 30 and the bounding surface 30 of each of the recesses 14 is concavely arcuate with respect to the top wall 20. Moreover, the bounding surface 30 of each of the recesses 14 has an apex which has a radius of curvature that is less than a radius of curvature of the sides of the bounding surface 30. Thus, the bounding surface 30 of each of the recesses 14 defines a parabolic curve.

The recesses 14 are arranged into a pair of rows 32 on the top wall 20 and each of the rows 32 extends along a full length of the box 12. The top wall 20 curves upwardly at a plurality of points to define a plurality of peaks 34 that are distributed along a longitudinal centerline of the box 12 extending between the rows 32 of the recesses 14. Additionally, each of the peaks 34 is positioned between a respective pair of the recesses 14.

A lid 36 is hingedly coupled to the box 12, the lid 36 has a plurality of cups 38 thereon and each of the cups 38 extends upwardly from the lid 36. Each of the cups 38 is aligned with a respective one of the recesses 14 when the lid 36 is closed such that each of the cups 38 forms an enclosure 37 with the respective recesses 14. Additionally, each of the cups 38 is concavely arcuate to receive and thusly conform to the wide end 39 of the egg 18 when the lid 36 is closed. The wide end 39 of the egg 18 is exposed when the lid 36 is opened thereby enhancing gripping the egg 18 as opposed to gripping the narrow end 16 of the egg 18.

The lid 36 has a bottom surface 40, a top surface 41 and a peripheral edge 42 extending therebetween. Each of the cups 38 extends upwardly from the top surface 41 and an open end 44 of each of the cups 38 extends through the bottom surface 40. The peripheral edge 42 extends beyond the bottom surface 40 to define a lip 46 extending around a full perimeter of the bottom surface 40. The lip 46 on the lid 36 has a back side 48 and the back side 48 of the lip on the lid 36 is hingedly coupled to the back side 28 of the lip 26 on the box 12. Thus, the lip 46 on the lid 36 abuts the lip 26 on the box 12 when the lid 36 is closed. The bottom surface 40 of the lid 36 curves downwardly at a plurality of locations to define a plurality of points 50. Each of the points 50 is aligned with a respective one of the peaks 34 when the lid 36 is closed.

In use, the lid 36 is opened and the narrow end 16 of each egg 18 is positioned in a respective one of the recesses 14. Thus, the eggs 18 are retained with the wide end 39 of the eggs 18 facing upwardly to enhance gripping the eggs 18. In this way the eggs 18 can be removed from the box 12 by an elderly person, or other user that has compromised fine motor skills, without fumbling with and potentially cracking the eggs 18. The lid 36 is closed for storing the eggs 18 in the respective enclosure 37 defined by the recesses 14 and the cups 38.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. An egg storage assembly being configured to store eggs with the wide end of the egg facing upwardly thereby enhancing grasping the eggs, said assembly comprising: a box having a plurality of recesses each extending downwardly therein, each of said recesses having a parabolic shape wherein each of said recesses is configured to receive and thusly conform to the narrow end of an egg, said recesses being spaced apart from each other and being distributed on said box; and a lid being hingedly coupled to said box, said lid having a plurality of cups thereon, each of said cups extending upwardly from said lid, each of said cups being aligned with a respective one of said recesses when said lid is closed such that each of said cups forms an enclosure with said respective recesses, each of said cups being concavely arcuate wherein each of said cups is configured to receive and thusly conform to the wide end of the egg when said lid is closed, the wide end of the egg being exposed when said lid is opened thereby enhancing gripping the egg.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said box has a top wall, a bottom wall and an outer surface extending therebetween, said outer surface extending upwardly beyond said top wall to define a lip extending around an entire perimeter of said box, said lip having a back side; each of said recesses extends downwardly in said top wall toward said bottom wall, each of said recesses having a bounding surface, said bounding surface of each of said recesses being concavely arcuate with respect to said top side; said bounding surface of each of said recesses having an apex which has a radius of curvature being less than a radius of curvature of the sides of said bounding surface such that said bounding surface of each of said recesses defines a parabolic curve; and recesses are arranged into a pair of rows on said top side, each of said rows extending along a full length of said box.
 3. The assembly according to claim 2, further comprising said top side curving upwardly at a plurality of points to define a plurality of peaks, said peaks being distributed along a longitudinal centerline of said box extending between said rows of said recesses, each of said peaks being positioned between a respective pair of said recesses.
 4. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein: said lid has a bottom surface, a top surface and a peripheral edge extending therebetween, each of said cups extending upwardly from said top surface, an open end of each of said cups extending through said bottom surface; and said peripheral edge extending beyond said bottom surface to define a lip extending around a full perimeter of said bottom surface.
 5. The assembly according to claim 4, wherein said lip on said lid has a back side, said back side of said lip on said lid being hingedly coupled to said back side of said lip on said box, said lip on said lid abutting said lip on said box when said lid is closed.
 6. The assembly according to claim 3, wherein said lid has a bottom surface, said bottom surface curving downwardly at a plurality of points to define a plurality of points, each of said points being aligned with a respective one of said peaks when said lid is closed.
 7. An egg storage assembly being configured to store eggs with the wide end of the egg facing upwardly thereby enhancing grasping the eggs, said assembly comprising: a box having a plurality of recesses each extending downwardly therein, each of said recesses having a parabolic shape wherein each of said recesses is configured to receive and thusly conform to the narrow end of an egg, said recesses being spaced apart from each other and being distributed on said box, said box having a top wall, a bottom wall and an outer surface extending therebetween, said outer surface extending upwardly beyond said top wall to define a lip extending around an entire perimeter of said box, said lip having a back side, each of said recesses extending downwardly in said top wall toward said bottom wall, each of said recesses having a bounding surface, said bounding surface of each of said recesses being concavely arcuate with respect to said top side, said bounding surface of each of said recesses having an apex which has a radius of curvature being less than a radius of curvature of the sides of said bounding surface such that said bounding surface of each of said recesses defines a parabolic curve, said recesses being arranged into a pair of rows on said top side, each of said rows extending along a full length of said box, said top side curving upwardly at a plurality of points to define a plurality of peaks, said peaks being distributed along a longitudinal centerline of said box extending between said rows of said recesses, each of said peaks being positioned between a respective pair of said recesses; and a lid being hingedly coupled to said box, said lid having a plurality of cups thereon, each of said cups extending upwardly from said lid, each of said cups being aligned with a respective one of said recesses when said lid is closed such that each of said cups forms an enclosure with said respective recesses, each of said cups being concavely arcuate wherein each of said cups is configured to receive and thusly conform to the wide end of the egg when said lid is closed, the wide end of the egg being exposed when said lid is opened thereby enhancing gripping the egg, said lid having a bottom surface, a top surface and a peripheral edge extending therebetween, each of said cups extending upwardly from said top surface, an open end of each of said cups extending through said bottom surface, said peripheral edge extending beyond said bottom surface to define a lip extending around a full perimeter of said bottom surface, said lip on said lid having a back side, said back side of said lip on said lid being hingedly coupled to said back side of said lip on said box, said lip on said lid abutting said lip on said box when said lid is closed, said bottom surface curving downwardly at a plurality of points to define a plurality of points, each of said points being aligned with a respective one of said peaks when said lid is closed. 